EP-8RGA+ w/pics

[Nick]

I noticed two bulging capacitors (GSC 1500 uF 6.3 V) on my 8-month-old EP-8RGA+ the other day when I opened up the case to install a new memory stick. I had to reduce the FSB considerably for stuff not to crash, and the system kept failing Prime95's torture test even at stock speeds. (8-hour Memtest86 test went through fine.) It sometimes fails to come back from stand-by and hibernation, and it will occasionally refuse to turn on after cutting power to it from the power supply or the power cord.

I purchased this board from Newegg last year while on a trip to the U.S., and shipping it back to EPoX would cost me considerably more than recapping it myself, so I'll be getting some caps (which, by the way, are nowhere to be found where I live) and doing it myself.

Topcat: Any chances of having you ship a custom kit to Argentina? I know you only do U.S. and Canada, but I would like to purchase from you rather than from [insert competing kit seller's URL here]. Please?





As soon as I replace the capacitors, I'll post back here and let you all know whether the side effects I mentioned above were fixed.

[Topcat]

Shoot me an email with your needs and I'll see what I can do.

[Nick]

I thought I would post a list of all the shobby > 1000 uF caps on my EP-8RGA+; maybe it can help someone.

4 x GSC 2200uF 16V 10mm (near the power connector)
5 x GSC 1500uF 6.3V 10mm
9 x TEAPO 1000uF 6.3V 8mm

There are also 6 Sanyo 3300uF 6.3V 10mm caps next to the CPU socket, but those should be okay. (If they're legitimate Sanyos, that is.)

[kc8adu]

dont recall seeing fake sanyos.
at least they arent rulycons(rubycon fakes)

[Nick]

The whole counterfeit crap sucks. A couple of years ago I was in need of a relatively thin permanent marker for making a PCB, and I couldn't seem to find a decent one anywhere. My dad brought me one from work, but it was a bit too thick. Its brand was "Mckye," it had stuff written on it in broken English, there was no ® sign next to the brand, the country of manufacture was not stated, and the ink was really crappy. I then found one of a suitable diameter at some store. Apparently the same brand but with a ® sign, no broken English, a "Made in Japan" statement, and much better ink. I got it, and, upon closer inspection at home, I realized its logo was absolutely identical to the previous one's except for one letter in the brand: "Mckie" as opposed to "Mckye." The first marker I had gotten my hands on was obviously a counterfeit.

[ZeShun]

Hi. First timer here - all the way from Malaysia.

Recently, my EPOX 8rga+ went dead and a technician checked the board and found 4 bulging caps near the RAM slots :

1 no. 1500uF 6.3V
3 nos. 1000uF 6.3V

I have asked him to help me replace them and it is now the 6th day and he is still waiting for the "parts" to arrive. I am going nuts without my PC, so I decided to google out more information on caps, and that's how I found this FABULOUS website.

I asked some guys from a local tech forum about caps and they told me that I could get them from a welknown area with loads of stores that sell electronic parts. So, I went there today and managed to get 3 pieces of 1000uF 6.3V capacitors. But strange, they are RUBYCON and cost only RM0.40 = US0.10 !!! Are they really cheap or are they fake? I looked at the label printed and it indeed says Rubycon. (not Rulycon or any other misspelled names). I can see some code that reads "CE W 1M9112 85°C". What does it mean?

Now, my problem is that I still can't find cap 1500uF 6.3V. I've visited almost every single store there and NONE of them have it. They have other 1500uF which is of 16V or something like that. Can someone please tell me if I could use an alternative cap beside 1500uF 6.3V?? One guy in the store told me that it is difficult to get a 1500uF 6.3V cap.

It's depressing to see my PC lying dead in my room :roll:

Please help.

[Nick]

But strange, they are RUBYCON and cost only RM0.40 = US0.10 !!! Are they really cheap or are they fake? I looked at the label printed and it indeed says Rubycon. (not Rulycon or any other misspelled names).

No, way too cheap. Mine cost over $1.00 USD each. Either they are counterfeit or they are normal capacitors, i.e. non-low-ESR. You shouldn't put normal capacitors on a motherboard. If you want it to be stable, you should get low-ESR capacitors. You'll most likely not find them in normal stores.

I can see some code that reads "CE W 1M9112 85°C". What does it mean?

The last bit means that the maximum temperature the capacitor can stand is 85°C, which might not be suitable for a motherboard. You should get 105°C capacitors.

Now, my problem is that I still can't find cap 1500uF 6.3V. I've visited almost every single store there and NONE of them have it. They have other 1500uF which is of 16V or something like that. Can someone please tell me if I could use an alternative cap beside 1500uF 6.3V?? One guy in the store told me that it is difficult to get a 1500uF 6.3V cap.

It's fine to use a capacitor with a higher voltage rating than what you need. The drawback is that the higher the voltage the larger the diameter, so the capacitor might not fit.

Anyway, you'll most likely not find capacitors that fit all the requirements in normal stores. They must be low-ESR, they should have a maximum temperature rating of 105°C, they should have exactly the same capacity as the ones that came with your motherboard, and they should have a voltage rating equal to or greater than (as long as the capacitor fits physically) the ones that came with the motherboard.

I failed to find suitable capacitors in my country, so I ordered them from motherboardrepair.com. They ship worldwide.

[ZeShun]

I just found out that Farnell has a branch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! I immediately give it a call and asked for the capacitors.

Ok, these are what I am looking for :

1500uf 6.3v 10mm dia., and
1000uf 6.3v 8mm dia.

The lady offered me :

1500uf 6.3v 10mm Rubycon (767360), and
1000uf 6.3v 8mm Panasonic (3198662)

I am curious, if I get a Rubycon (768406) 1000uf 10v 8mm dia., instead of that Panasonic, would it work fine too??

Can I replace a 6.3v cap with 10v cap? Would that give more problem to my mobo??

[Nick]

I am curious, if I get a Rubycon (768406) 1000uf 10v 8mm dia., instead of that Panasonic, would it work fine too??

Yes.

Can I replace a 6.3v cap with 10v cap?

Yes, as long as it fits physically (which it does from the diameter you quoted).

But again, make sure they are low-ESR and have a temperature rating of 105°C.

[willawake]

ZeShun, welcome to the forum. Your Farnell choices for Rubycon are great ZL series, used in many motherboards. The panasonic choice is NHG series which is cross referenced by Rubycon to their YXA caps. This is not such a good choice.

You have to see the series chart to understand :



MCZ, MBZ, ZA, ZL, ZLH, YXG, YXH : Great choices
More low impedance is what we want to see

You mostly see YXG, ZL in motherboards. MCZ, MBZ probably expensive

[ZeShun]

Someone told me that different caps have different lifespan, eg. 1500h. What does that mean? The caps have to be changed after 1500 hours of usage?? That's about 62 days or 2 months. That's fast... I guess, I have to change caps every 2 months, if I let my PC runs 24/7?

By the way, THANKS A MILLION GUYS for the caps information

[willawake]

The caps are rated at a reference temperature. With the ones we are interested in this is 105degC. Your Rubycon ZL are rated for 1000-5000hours lifespan at 105degC. However you will not be running the caps at such an extremely high temperature. Their life will be much longer at lower temperatures.

You can rest assured that the ZL caps will last the useful lifetime of your computer. (ie it will be so obsolete when they fail that nobody will want that board).

[ZeShun]

FINALLY, someone managed to solder the new caps onto my EPOX mobo. It is like "heaven" when I finally get to use my PC again. Strange, earlier, the bios could not detect my HDDs and CD Drives. I unplugged and plugged (for 4 - 5 times) them and that worked. Phew...

I am praying that my mobo will run fine without any glitches. Now, I dare not close the casing - afraid of temperature going high up and causing other caps to swell. Am I doing the rite thing?

Again, THANK YOU GUYS!

[ZeShun]

My God, I found 6 more bulging GSC caps on my EPOX mobo!! My PC freezed earlier, I reboot it and I heard an "alarm" sound. I checked the mobo and found these bad caps. Sigh, I guess I have to replace them... Thank God, I am still able to use the PC... for now. Maybe it will stop running within these few days.

[Nick]

GSC capacitors always fail. When you find bulging capacitors, you should replace all capacitors of the same brand on the board, even if some of them are not yet bulging.

BTW, I had a crappy Leadtek GeForce4 MX video card with GSC capacitors, and they also failed a few weeks ago, after about 9 months of use. The symptom was that the monitor would go off permanently at resolutions higher than 640x480. I replaced the capacitors and it's been working like a charm ever since.

My advice: Avoid EPoX and Leadtek crap.

[bETAbILLY]

GSC capacitors always fail.

Not only do GSC caps have incomplete electrolytic formulation causing hydrogen gas buildup, they have also exibit values that can vary +/ - 39% when new.